A group of United Nations experts announced today, Friday, that the killing of three Palestinians in a West Bank hospital last month by undercover Israeli forces disguised as paramedics and women may amount to a war crime. The Israeli army stated that the three were killed on January 29 during a joint covert operation involving the military, the internal security service (Shin Bet), and border police at Ibn Sina Hospital in the city of Jenin, one of the most troubled cities in the West Bank.
UN experts noted in a statement, "Under international humanitarian law, the killing of an unarmed patient being treated in a hospital amounts to a war crime," referring to Basel Ghazawi, a patient who was being treated for injuries that the statement indicated were the result of an Israeli airstrike.
They added, "By disguising themselves as medical staff and peaceful protected civilians, Israeli forces also initially committed the war crime of treachery, which is prohibited under any circumstances," and called on Israel to conduct an investigation. The experts in question are special rapporteurs appointed by the UN to examine specific human rights concerns.
An immediate comment from the Israeli army regarding the experts' statement was not available. A video from the hospital's surveillance cameras showed a group of about ten individuals dressed as civilians and paramedics, including three wearing hijabs and women’s clothing, passing through one of the corridors while armed with assault rifles.
The Israeli military claims that one of the deceased in the hospital was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, and that the other two were members of the Jenin Brigade and the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement.
